Gosh its been awhile since I have just sat and written a short eyelet about things going on in my life. The hours turn into days and the days into weeks and before you know it...bam! Its the end of the year! I can't believe it, can you? I remember thinking last New Years Eve that we had a long school year still left (with very few days off) and wondered how I would ever make it...now, I am like, "can't I have just one more week of vacation? Im not ready to get back into the routine."

First off, thank you thank you for helping to make 2010 a success for eyefull photography. It has been a wonderful year from beginning to end and I cannot express my gratitude to you enough. For 2011, I hope to continue building momentum, moving forward, charting a new course... And when the problems come (as they are sure to because we are not promised a happy life) well, then, that is why my eyes are set on Jesus. I can set all the goals in the world, but if they do not align up with what I believe the Lord has for me, well then, I may as well stand in one place.

So, where do I see myself in 2011?

Well, to start off, my daughter turns 2 on the 3rd, so I guess some kind of party to celebrate her birthday would be in order.

But larger goals?

*strengthen my walk with the Lord through daily devotion and prayer. The Bible says, draw closer to God and he will draw closer to you. OK, I think I will give that a try in 2011!

*stop with the negative self talk. I am my worse critic and I sure can tear myself down in my own mind.

*Take my head off the swivel. I know its hard, but comparing yourself to someone else can be dangerous.

*Teach my daughters to be ladies. Psalsm 144:12 says, "[my] daughters will be like pillars, carved to adorn a palace." I am charged with helping to grow them into strong, Christ loving, beautiful women.

Those are personal goals.

Professional goals?

For some reason, these are a little bit harder for me to figure out. I don't know why they are, but they are:

1) Move the business in the direction and the genre I feel that my talent and passion lie.

2) Don't be afraid if things look like they are not moving forward.

3) Continue training and learning. Do not stop. This will grow confidence and skill.

I hope that you are able to set some goals for yourself as well and give Thanks to God for all he has done and will do.

I thought about starting off this blog post with photos of the kids, individuals and groups...but then I thought NAH....my eyefull parents are awesome, so I want to start with two of my favorite photos from the session of the parents!

The reason I like this one, is that I barely got the words out of my mouth, "now we are going to Ki..." and they were like, "Yea, we like that!" and I was able to snap this one before the actual kissing began.

Love the softness of this photo. Being with the one you love should be like a breath of fresh air, soft, and fresh. Love it.

Let's not forget their 3 amazing children. I have known little sister for a few years now, but spending time with her brothers was a hoot too.

Little sister definitely loved having her picture taken; and I loved taking it.

Ok, so brothers, maybe not so much [wanting their photos taken] but, being handsome young men, I had to snap a few of them.

This session was for Christmas cards and the family had recently returned from a trip to Disneyland. I think the hats and the frame worked out nicely.

Who is this you ask yourself? And why isn't he in any of the "family" pictures?This is big brother's friend. He was over to hang out with the family and where they went, he went...hence, why he is sitting on the fabulous couch wearing a hoodie. But he was a huge help to me, holding my reflector and everything. Thanks friend.

The first time that I met Cheryl was last year when she asked me to photograph Addie. Over the past year, my family and hers have become friends and I know that [we] enjoy our friendship with them very much.

Their son and daughter are super cute and very loving toward one another. Little sister adores big brother.

Love this picture!

I love this picture because it is so opposite of how I know these two. Cheryl always has a smile on her face and is so postive and encouraging. So when I see this photo, I smile...its like their alter egos.

Handsome brother.

Dad and his "mini Mike." You know how I love love Dads with their kiddos...this set of photos is no exception.

Meet the Surek Family: Dan, Kim, Danielle, and Kara.I have know Kim for about 8 months, first meeting her in the Spring early this year.

This set of photos may be my favorite ones of the girls.

I like this set of photos with Kim and her husband. I tend to have a mini panick attack when I take the parents off to do some shots of just them. I wonder in my head...all in a matter of seconds mind you..."to kiss or not to kiss" or" are they going to get where I am going with this set of photos?" or "how can I capture them in their natural way with each other and still get the shot?"...and many others. As you can see, Dan had his role down pat...Kim? (hahaha)

Some of my biggest fans and supporters are pictured in the photos in this blog.My second year photographing this family for their Christmas card....this year I got to photograph the entire extended family as well.

I have 4 daughters and Shauna has 4 sons...hmmm ;)

I met Theresa when Shauna and Len moved into town, but I had never met "Dad" or "Ben" so it was great to finally meet him in person.

This photograph just makes me smile. The guys had eyed this bridge and it only took one of them to say, "Hey do you think we should..." and off they went to get into position. I especially love Matt's positioning on the pillar, hands raised up. He cracks me up (you didn't see him this summer wearing a sweat head band, white tennis and black shoes for VBS!). He's quirky (to me) and he is just a good guy. However, there are two possible explanations for his pose in this particular photo: First, Matt is giving praise to God and two, Matt is being silly (Probably a little bit of both. )

Love love this photo of the three siblings. Again, I had heard so much about "my brother Joey" and I finally had the chance to meet him. Nice guy and uber handsome...I had a hard time keeping focused on editing ;)

Another cute one of just Joey and Krystal.

I like this series of photos of Len and Shauna playing with each other and being silly. I think I gave him the instruction to "dip" her except I didn't say "dip" I went into some convoluted description replete with me trying to show them what I wanted, for him to just say, "Oh you want me to dip her." Leave it to the Fuzz to get right to the point (and I can only call him that in my blog)!

End back where we started.With a sweet family that I have come to love and appreciate this past two years.

To be honest, Myriam and Fabian moved from 2 to 1 many years ago. But Myriam was not happy with her wedding photos (no, they weren't taken by me) and so she asked me to retake photos for her. She wanted romantic and pretty. I hope I gave her that and more...

We started off at a half finished building just outside of town. The white buildings and wrought iron finish started off our romantic journey. This is one of my favorite photos from the session. And just looking at this photo, you learn a lot about this couple...he is her rock, she leans on him.

This is another favorite. I just like the wedding figure against the white wall.

My beautiful and funny friend, Myriam. She has such a sweet heart and she is funny as anyone I know (except she doesn't know it) which makes it even better!

Every opportunity I get to spend with Fabian reveals to me more and more how he sees his relationship with Myriam. If there ever is a man loves his woman with all of his being and shows it in so many ways, its Fabian. Not only can you see it, you FEEL it....from the small things like, opening the car door for her, to bigger things, for instance, she calls me to the car and says "Do you think we should get some flowers?" And I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth, before he pipes in, "Yes, flowers lets get some." So we trot off to the grocery store. He lets her out (at the door) and parks his car, double times it to the store and they emerge with two dozen red roses. He defers to her happiness in everything...He lives for this woman.

Just this morning, another friend of mine who lives in SF says that she was riding the metro this morning and overheard a man tell his girl, "You're a splash of color in a drab world!" what?! So sweet, and when I read her FB update, I immediately thought of these two...no lie...They are each other's color in a drab world. Love it!!

Trying to capture the sunlight in a kiss.

So we thought to do a twirl in the middle of a court yard area. As you can see, it ended in a fit of giggles and laughs.

For the second half of our session, we moved to another location. This location literally looks like a scene from Italy, with the gondola bridge and the winding roads...ok, so I have never been to Italy, but I have seen pictures and this kind of reminded me of that.

Another favorite of mine.

A few details.

Loved being able to re-capture some romantic moments with my dear friends. I hope that they enjoyed this experience as much as I did.

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Dawniele Castellanos and eyefull Photography dawneiecastellanos, 2009. Unathorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Dawniele Castellanos and eyefull Photography dawnielecastellanos with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Services

EyefullPhotography provides custom wedding, family and portrait photography services tailored to each client.We are based in Maricopa AZ, Serving: Ahwatukee, Casa Grande, Chandler, Gilbert, and Maricopa.

About Me

My love for taking pictures and capturing moments started when I was a little girl. I can still remembering hearing my family members reflecting on how I was going to be the one to capture the families memories because I took so many pictures-and that was before digital cameras! My desire to start a photography business, capturing newborn, infants, children and family moments began when my oldest daughter was just a baby. That was 10 years ago! We went to a friend of a friends house who was just starting out herself. All she had was herself and a few props and the pictures were wonderful. Since then, I knew that I could do that too. That I could cultivate my creative side in print! Once we moved to Arizona, I started looking for opportunities and can still hear my friend's voice in my ear saying, "Girl...you better get yourself a camera and start taking pictures!" Thanks Robin...But, what happens from this point on, only God knows. But, I love what I am doing now and I hope you will love what we can do together!

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. I am so excited to share what I have been up to on this blog. Please leave me some LOVE by leaving comments! Check out my website by clicking here . Join me on Facebook: eyeFull Photography . Now scheduling for 2011: Email me at dawniele@eyefullphotography.net and I will be happy to chat with you about how to capture your family memories!